Stream the cryptic and dark new album by the St. Louis rock outfit CaveofswordS, Sigils, a week leading up to its release.

Enigmatic lyrics, reverb-drenched vocals, and an overall cryptic mood make up the newest album by the St. Louis rock group CaveofswordS, Sigils. (On their website, CaveofswordS is described as “dubwave”.) The band latticeworks layers of psychedelic haze and synth-led soundscapes into a brooding collage that emits intrigue all throughout these ten tunes.

The legendary singer/songwriter Bob Dylan gets away with murder in the old-timey noir music video of his Frank Sinatra cover "The Night We Called It a Day".

In his eight out of ten PopMatters review of Bob Dylan’s Frank Sinatra covers album Shadows in the Night, Steve Horowitz writes, “Dylan has coyly said he’s not covering these Sinatra songs, he’s uncovering them from the weight of all those who have added their dross to the originals. There’s no sarcasm, cynicism, or irony on this disc; no hipster coolness, no vocal embellishments. Shadows in the Night is clearly an act of love and honor.”

To add to his project of homage to Sinatra, Dylan takes on the (anti)hero role in the music video for “The Night We Called It a Day”, which takes its cues from the golden age of film noir in the ‘40s and ‘50s.

The classic Wisconsin rock outfit BoDeans will release their 12th studio outing, I Can't Stop, this April. Now you can stream the pounding rocker "Slave".

With over 30 years of experience and 11 studio LPs under their belts, the BoDeans don’t have much to do as far as establishing credibility goes. The Waukesha, Wisconsin rock group has built a strong reputation for their rugged work ethic and their love of American roots rock. Both of those things hold true for their soon-to-be-released 12th album, I Can’t Stop, which reaffirms the group’s commitment to the craft—the title is no exaggeration.

Below you can stream the album cut “Slave”, a driving rocker driven by a primal, pounding pulse.

The kind of music that the Athens, Georgia instrumental outfit Kenosha Kid purveys in is one of those things that is nearly impossible to describe with clarity that nonetheless makes sense by the time it’s all said and done. One spin of any of their knotty, mind-bending jams and it becomes clear that the group, headed up by guitarist Dan Nettles, has a very different conception of song structure than most musicians. Where others would think not to put certain ideas together, Kenosha Kid runs wild with the eclectic. Such is the case for the oddball “Zombie Party”, a track taken from the band’s forthcoming LP Inside Voices. A delirious hodgepodge of jazz, surf rock, and ‘60s pop, the tune’s perplexing composition is matched only by is music video, which… well, it’s best to let Nettles himself explain what’s going on here.

Following their sharp VA album in 2014, the Last Bison are releasing an EP of tracks culled from that time in the studio.

Last fall, PopMatters premiered the music video “Bad Country” by the Virginia folk group the Last Bison. That song, a fine, sing-alongable number, is one of the key components of the convivial atmosphere that fills VA, the group’s most recent LP. PopMatters writer John Bergstrom asked in his review of the Last Bison’s Inheritance record, “The Virginia septet are legitimate players in the folk revival, so why aren’t they blanketing your radio like Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers?” The world has yet to give a sensible answer. The band’s music not only gives those mega-groups a run for their money; in many cases, particularly with Mumford & Sons, they actually one-up them.

As it turns out, the music of VA isn’t over just yet. These Virginians have now readied a followup EP, Dorado, taken from the writing and recording sessions from the last album.